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4-Year Dropout Rate For City Schools
Remains Unchanged For 1998-99
The percentage of students in
San Diego City Schools who drop out between ninth grade and graduation,
known as the estimated four-year dropout rate, remained at 14.6 percent
for the 1998-99 school year, according to the latest data collected for
the California Department of Education. That means that 146 of every 1,000
entering ninth graders in the district were likely to drop out before
completing their degree four years later. This rate is unchanged from
1997-98, with decreases in 1998-99 in the number of dropouts in grades 11
and 12 offset by an increased number at grade 9.
The estimated four-year rate is used in local, state and national comparisons of dropouts. The rate is computed from the latest statistics gathered grade by grade. The estimated four-year dropout rates by race/ethnicity for 1998-99 are as follows: Hispanic: 22.7 percent, or 227 of every 1,000 Hispanic
students between grades 9-12. By year, the estimated four-year dropout rates for the district are as follows:
The district reports dropout statistics annually to the California Department of Education. The state defines a dropout as any student in secondary grades who: left school before graduation or before earning the legal equivalent of a high school diploma by passing the General Educational Development (GED) examination or the California High School Proficiency Examination. did not return to a school or an educational program by mid-October of the following school year, as evidenced by a transcript request or other reliable documentation. Observers often note that the number of dropouts from a high school graduation class in any given year does not fully account for the difference between the number of ninth graders originally in the class and the number of graduates. This year, the district looked at the class of 1999those students who graduated in June 1999to explain this difference. In 1995-96, the class of 1999 contained 9,340 ninth graders. During the next four years: 1,150 students dropped out. 901 left for alternative education programs, including those offered by the district and the community colleges. 222 returned to Mexico for education. 40 students passed the California High School Equivalency Examination. 6,556 completed high school with a diploma, certificate of attendance, or letter of recognition. 411 grade 12 students did not graduate. 10 students died. Once a student enters an alternative program or a school in another locale, the student is no longer considered a district student. The student would not be counted as a district dropout if he or she did not subsequently complete the alternative program or did not finish school in another locale. The success of students who went to alternative programs or to Mexico is not fully known. The district does not know whether students who entered community college adult education programs completed them. The district does not know whether students who returned to Mexico completed high school. District records do show that 15 of 40 students who entered its Joint Diploma Program had graduated from high school by October 1999. They also show that 10 of 245 students who entered the High School Diploma alternative program graduated by October 1999; 85 were still enrolled during 1999-2000 and 49 were still active as of March 2000. The circumstances of the other students originally enrolled in the program is unknown. The district also compiles single year dropout rates, grades 7-12. The rate for 1998-99 is 2.8 percent, compared to 2.7 percent in 1997-98 and 2.3 percent in 1996-97. The increase is due to a rise in the number of dropouts in grades 7, 8 and 9. For more information on dropout statistics, please contact Gary Knowles, educational research specialist, at (619) 725-7194. |
